Damage Inc
by dreamersrequiem
Summary: After talking to a certain High School paper editor, Sam manages to convince Dean to take a trip to a small farming town to investigate some strange rocks in the area.
1. So Sammy Can Get Laid

"You have got to be kidding me."

Dean Winchester lifted his eyes, looking away from the newspaper in his hand and glancing instead at his little brother. The younger Winchester just smiled, raising one shoulder and quickly letting it drop as Dean bit into the burger in front of him.

"We're going to Hicksville because of some High School paper?"

Sam leant back, crossing his arms as a small smile lingered on his lips. "It's not just The Torch, Dean."

"Of course not." The blond lifted an eyebrow, putting the paper down on the table. "It's the chick who writes it too, right?"

"Chloe?" Sam scoffed, rolling his eyes for added effect. "No, Dean. She's a high school kid. Get your mind off sex for once, alright?"

"I wouldn't blame you." He took another bite of the burger, eyes scanning the table, "How old is she?"

"Seventeen."

Dean frowned, clearly trying to work something out. "Where is this place?"

Sam paused, wondering whether the place name he was about to speak was going to be worth upsetting his brother. Still, Dean needed to know. He was, after all, the driver. "Kansas."

Dean froze, burger halfway to his mouth. He raised his eyes, locking on the innocent looking face of his brother. Sam expected this reaction, and was not surprised when Dean lowered the food and leant back in his chair, eyes fixed on the copy of The Torch. "Kansas. Right. Where in Kansas?"

"Near Metropolis."

Dean visibly relaxed, and Sam was glad to see him continue digging into his food. "So, what's the story?"

"It's not our usual area Dean."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not demons or ghosts or vampires."

Dean, having finished his food, now leant back in his chair, studying his brother carefully with his head slightly raised and eyes, intense with questions. "What is it Sam?"

Sam took a deep breath, anticipating his brother's reaction. He stared down at the paper, knowing if his brother had just opened it, rather than glancing at the front page and throwing it aside, he would know exactly what they were going to the small farming town to see.

"Meteor Rocks."

Dean laughed, tilting his head back and revealing his jagged slightly off-white teeth. Shaking his head, he proceeded to wipe 'tears' from his eyes, still chuckling. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious Dean."

"And why the hell are we looking at Meteor Rocks?"

"Because I think there might be something..." He waved a hand through the air, unable to come up with the right word. "They alter people Dean, they change them. A lot of them go completely psycho – they end up with...powers, abilities they didn't have before when they come into contact with the rocks."

"Right. It does sound familiar Sam."

"That's what I was thinking."

"So, we go to Hicksville..."

"Smallville."

"Whatever. We go there, then what?"

"Well, find Chloe. She seems to have the most expertise in the area. She's dealt in some way or another with almost all of the people affected. As well as that, her friend Clark has seen a lot of it too."

"Chloe and Clark?" Dean stood up, stretching his arms so that his t-shirt rose ever so slightly, revealing a tight stomach marred with scars. He dropped his arms. "Don't tell me they're a couple."

"They're not." Sam pushed himself up, following his brother out of the diner and towards the Impala waiting for them. "And...don't mention them being a couple Dean, alright?"

"Why not?" Dean raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Sam.

"Well...me and Chloe didn't just talk about the Meteor Rocks. I think it's kind of complicated with those two."

Dean rolled his eyes as he pulled the door open. Sliding in, he pressed Play on the CD player. Within seconds, the car was filled with heavy music. Metallica blasted through, causing a few people passing to wince. "High school kids." Dean muttered, as Sam climbed into the passenger seat and turned the sound down ever so slightly. "Everything's a drama with them. So, we're going to Smallville, you're going to bang this chick..."

"It's not like that Dean."

"Then we'll disappear?"

"When we find out what, exactly, is going on with the Rocks."

"Fine, fine." Dean waved a hand, glancing at the diner for one last time as he pulled out of his parking spot. "So, off to Hicksville, so Sammy can get laid."

"Dean!"

"Fine, fine. To look at some rocks. And so Sammy can get laid."

Sam rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat and staring out of the window, knowing all too well that the more he argued his and Chloe's platonic friendship, the more Dean would insist that it wasn't just platonic.


	2. Welcome to Hicksville

Dean stood outside the car, staring intently at the map he had laid across the bonnet. His eyes were narrowed, eyebrows knitted in frustration. Sam was currently imploring his brother to make the trek with him to the farm they could see not far down the road, to stop and ask for directions. In moments like this, Sam could see their father reflected in Dean. They both had the same stubborn streak, the same inability to allow themselves to ask for help from a stranger.

"Need help boys?"

Both of them snapped their heads around, staring at the red truck that had pulled up on the other side of the road. They stared at the man leaning out, smiling gently at them and eyeing the map on the hood of the Impala. One of the first things Dean noticed were the man's hands; they were rough, cuts crisscrossing the back, hard skin on the fingertips.

The first words that came to mind was 'salt of the earth'.

"We could do with some directions." Sam stepped forward, glancing uncertainty at the man. "We need to get into the main town...um, Smallville."

The man smiled at them, climbed out of the truck and crossed over to where Dean was staring at the map. Dean shrank back slightly, unnerved at the man's towering presence. He was reminded strongly of his own father; this guy had the same look of fierce determination in his eyes, though there was no clue as to why that was.

He pointed out various things on the map, giving the two boys directions as he did so.

"Thank you." Sam's grin was wide as he glanced at his brother.

"Where've you two come from then?" The man asked, glancing from Sam to Dean.

Both boys stuttered and stammered, before Dean came up with a definitive answer. "It's kind of complicated, but we've just driven up from Texas."

"Long way." He let out a low whistle, before his eyes darted to the farm Sam had originally wanted to stop at. "Tell you what, why don't you stop with us for a while? Grab something to eat."

"Sure." Dean seemed eager, and Sam knew exactly why. The mention of food would persuade his brother to go anywhere, and they hadn't eaten home cooked food for way too long. Even Sam's stomach grumbled slightly at the thought of it. "It'd be nice to have something home cooked." Dean commented, as if he could almost read Sam's mind.

"Good. I'm Jonathan Kent."

He held out his calloused hands, and in turn both boys shook them. "I'm Dean Bloom, and this is my brother Sam."

"Pleased to meet you." Sam found the man's grip to be strong and firm, as his eyes searched the faces of both boys. Again, they were reminded of John Winchester, and it was little to do with the name that sparked the reminder in their heads.

He moved towards his truck, eyeing the Impala with an almost wistful look in his eyes. "That's a nice car you have their boys."

"Thanks." Dean grinned – a compliment to his baby was, in his mind, a compliment to him – and tapped the side. "She was my dad's."

Jonathan smiled kindly back at them, before slamming the door of his vehicle close. He nodded towards the farm. "See you at the farm in a minute then."

Whilst Jonathan was offering to allow the Winchester brothers into the farm, his adoptive son sat in the loft above the barn at the Kent Farm, staring intensely at the book on the table before him. Unusually, his gaze was not focused on sending the book up in flames. No – he was hoping instead that the knowledge inside would somehow transfer itself to his brain without him having to open it.

The range of his powers, of things he could do was immense, but unfortunately he was unable to do this one task, and resigned himself to having to pick up and actually read the book when he heard the voices outside near the house.

It was an ability he had only recently discovered, and thus far had come in extremely useful. Not just when one of his friends was yelling for help either. It had helped fuel the journalist lurking inside of him, and helped greatly when helping Chloe with The Torch.

It surprised Clark that the subject matter being discussed outside concerned the aforementioned friend and paper.

One of the strangers was explaining that they had come to meet Chloe, that he had been chatting to her online, having found a mutual interest in a forum. The nature of the forum and the interests were not mentioned, though Clark could hazard a guess, knowing Chloe it would be something to do with the Wall of Weird and strange phenomena, the type that inhabitants of Smallville were all too aware of.

He stood, moving towards the window. From there he was able to see the two men talking to his father as they moved toward the house. The shorter of the two was muscular, wearing a leather jacket and had dirty blond hair. The taller had messy brown locks, was the same build as Clark and looked, for some reason, more innocent, so to speak, than the shorter, who gazed around him with a suspicious expression.

Still, both looked as if they had seen a lot. Both had hardened faces and creases around their eyes and mouths.

"That's a long way to travel to talk to the editor of a high school paper."

His father's voice floated up to Clark, as he opened the door.

"We had nothing better to do." The blond spoke, glancing with slight disdain at the other. Clark couldn't help smile to himself, before his name was mentioned.

"My son should be down for dinner, you might want to talk to him actually. Clark works with Chloe on the paper."

"Yeah, Chloe mentioned him." This time it was the taller one who spoke, and Clark found himself bristling with annoyance.

His first thought was that Chloe was still at it, still trying to gather information from him. Then, the rational part of his brain kicked in and he realised that the pair of them didn't seem to be trying to gleam information specifically about him. In fact, what he had said seemed to be perfectly natural. If Chloe had been just discussing the paper, then his name would have come up anyway.

Starting to feel curious himself about the two strangers, Clark made his way downstairs and into the house. His mother was chatting to the two men, and both his parents were showing typical Kent hospitality – the strangers were settled at the table, looking content with cups of coffee in front of them. They glanced at Clark when he entered, and the three proceeded to introduce themselves.

"Dean and Sam Bloom." The blond stood, shaking Clark's hand.

"Clark Kent." He flashed them his boyish, big grin before glancing at his mother. "What's for dinner mom?"

"Steak." She replied, and Clark saw, out of the corner of his eye, Dean's face light up. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen someone that happy over the announcement of food.

Sam began to offer thanks to the Kents, telling them how nice it was to be in a proper house rather than a motel. Dean, however, had his mind fixed on other things, including but not exclusively limited to, the steak he could now smell cooking. Clark Kent had struck him straightaway as someone not to be messed with, though there was no outward evidence why that should be the case. He had a few muscles, sure, but like Sammy he was slightly lanky, and that smile, that large grin that seemed to reveal all of his pearly white teeth, showed no hostility.

Maybe he was becoming jaded, Dean thought, seeking suspicion in everything he saw. Or maybe it was because Jonathan Kent had struck him in the same way – a strong man, powerful in nature if not wealth, a man who he knew would do anything to protect his family.

He couldn't help but see even more similarities between him and his own father.

For some reason, he got the impression that Jonathan would do literally anything for his son, and it came into Dean's mind that it wouldn't surprise him if the older man would be willing to make a deal with a demon to save his son.

At that thought, his eyes flickered over to Sammy, and he felt a pang in his heart, a guilty, twisted pang that had nothing, for once, to do with hunger.

He returned his attentions to the conversation being conducted around him, as Clark explained the last story he had covered. It was nothing major nor of particular interest to the Winchester brothers; it was a look into the Crows, Smallville's High School football team.

Still, sitting there with a hardworking normal family made Dean feel, not happy per se, for it was a glimpse into a life neither him nor Sam could have, instead he just felt content.


	3. Suspicions in The Talon

Clark joined them when they climbed into the Impala and took off for the main town. He frowned at the CD player, now playing Highway to Hell by AC/DC, and did something that made Sam wince and glance uncertainly at his brother.

Clark commented on Dean's choice of music.

"Don't you have something more...modern?"

Dean kept his eyes fixed steadily on the road in front of him, though Sam could see his expression grow slightly darker. The older brother took a deep breath, his knuckles going white on the wheel in front of him.

"Look, farm boy, when you drive, in your car, I wouldn't comment on your music choice, OK? So put up with it."

Clark shrank back in the seat, eyes darting to Sam. Sam glanced over his shoulder, shrugged and mouthed 'sorry'. The Kansas farm boy shook his head, taken aback by the sudden hostility in Dean's voice. He stared out of the window, continuing to give directions when Dean asked for them.

Soon, they were pulling up outside the Talon. Dean and Sam stared at it with searching expressions, admiring the slogan above the entrance.

"It used to be an old movie theatre." Clark explained, as the three climbed out. "Lana changed it into a coffee shop."

"Looks good." Dean stuffed his hands in his pockets, allowing the two taller boys to lead the way.

He was struck by the simplicity of the place, the quaint individual air it carried compared to the usual chain coffee house they normally stopped in. Sam stared around at the Egyptian decor, reminded of a coffee house he and his friends used to go to when he was in college.

While Sam gazed around, Dean followed Clark with his eyes as the farm boy moved to the counter, greeting two girls standing there. He couldn't hold back a grin at the sight of them; immediately he was struck by how hot they both were, one with blonde spiky hair with red tips, the other with long brown hair that tumbled down over her shoulders, stopping at her breasts.

Sam, noticing his brother staring, looked over. Both of them walked briskly to the counter, but before they got there, Dean grabbed his brother's arm and whispered in his ear.

"Did you tell her your surname?"

"No."

"Good." Dean released his brother, just in time as the three turned to look at them. He had known instantly, somehow, that the blonde was Chloe. He didn't know how, or why, he would have been unable to describe the instant knowledge, gleamed just be glancing at her. Something about the way she looked, the knowledge lurking behind her pretty eyes or the way she stood screamed journalist to Dean. God knew he'd tried to pass himself off as one enough times, and it was similar to the way he could pick out an FBI agent, or an undercover cop, or a doctor or some other professional he had tried to impersonate.

"Sam!" Chloe gasped, her lips curling up in big smile. Dean watched as his brother stepped forward, as the two stood awkwardly, as if neither knew whether to shake hands or hug or do something else.

They settled for a kind of half-hug, ending in Sam awkwardly tapping her shoulders.

"How are you?" She asked, seemingly oblivious, for the moment, to her friends and Dean.

"I'm good. How are things at The Torch?"

"Yeah, they're good. I'll take you over later, you can have a look at the Wall of Weird."

They shared two large grins, as Lana and Clark rolled their eyes. Dean raised an eyebrow, confused as he looked at the small group, clearly missing the joke. "Wall of Weird?"

"Oh, Chloe, this is my brother Dean."

Her eyes finally fell on Dean, and she gave him a small smile. "This is Lana, my roommate."

Lana smiled gently at the brothers, before offering them coffee. Eagerly the pair accepted, and Clark followed Lana as she started making them.

"Who are they?" Lana whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the brothers. Both, to her, were good looking in their own way; Clark and Sam shared a few traits, appearance wide, and she couldn't help but feel slightly attracted to the lanky brother with messy brown hair. As he chatted to Dean, she got the impression that although it was Sam talking, he was the quieter of the two, the more reserved. This feeling was confirmed when she caught Dean staring at her ass.

She decided, for the moment, to ignore it, focusing instead on Clark telling her what he knew of the pair.

"I don't trust them though." He saw the way Lana looked at him, her eyes narrowing and the frown that delicately turned her lips downwards. The 'not again Clark' look.

"They seem harmless."

"So did Adam."

She froze, staring at the coffee cup and biting her lip. This, he knew as the 'thanks for reminding me Clark' look.

"I made a mistake, Clark."

"I didn't mean it like that Lana."

"Look," she turned to him, carrying the tray now full of mugs with coffee in them, "for once just give someone the benefit of the doubt, OK? I know you did with Adam, and I know how it turned out but please Clark...if you notice something, fine. But don't make snap judgements."

He hung his head, knowing she was right. Even he didn't know why he didn't trust them, there was just something about the pair that was not quite right. He wondered how they got the scars on their hands, why the blond one seemed so guarded.

The four were chatting away, Chloe eagerly explaining the Wall of Weird to Dean. He was looking relatively interested, asking questions in the right places. Eventually, Chloe invited the pair to go to the Torch office, to have a look.

"Where you staying?" Clark asked, leaning against the counter.

"We were going to find a motel or something." Dean replied, scratching a cut on the base of his neck.

"You could stay at the farm." Clark offered, knowing that if they were under the same roof as him it would be easier to keep an eye on them.

The two brothers glanced at each other, clearly uncertain.

"Think about it." Clark continued. "You know where the farm is if you do want to stay."

"Thanks." Sam smiled at him, before looking at Chloe. The three of them chatted for a few minutes longer before they made their way to the school. As they left, they passed a man who, in Smallville, especially where the Talon and Clark were concerned, was a very important man. Lex Luthor glanced at the pair, before walking across the coffee house and arriving at the counter.

"Morning."

"Hey Lex." Clark was still staring at the door, considering his options in regards to what to do about the two men.

"Who were those two with Chloe?" Lex asked, looking towards Lana, expecting a more clear cut response than what he'd get from the usually cryptic Clark.

"Chloe met the taller one in a forum, they're interested in the Meteor Rocks."

"Really?" Lex looked particularly interested in this fact, now glancing at Clark. "Any reason why?"

"What do you mean?"

"They journalists? Scientists? Anything like that?" He asked, his smooth voice full of the suspicion he adopted whenever the meteor rocks were mentioned.

Clark and Lana stared at each other, realising neither of them had bothered to even check such a simple thing as why they were interested in the rocks.

"I thought it might have just been a general thing." Clark explained. "But if they are journalists..."

He did not like journalists, having had bad experiences with them. He didn't like the way they were always searching for a story, digging in and not caring about who they might hurt in the process. He'd seen that with Perry White, who had almost killed himself and Clark just to try to get a story.

"They are not journalists." Lana shook her head, finding herself surprised, as usual, at Clark and Lex's automatic suspicion of people.

"How do you know?"

"They didn't seem like journalists, and they weren't asking particularly intense questions. They seem to really not know anything about the rocks, and if they were journalists they would have done research into it before hand."

Clark and Lex glanced at each other, before shrugging. Lana had a point, and they both knew it.

"Was that their car outside?"

"The Impala?" Clark asked, watching as Lex nodded. "Yeah, it's theirs."

"Looks a bit battered."

"Yeah." Clark became thoughtful. "Wonder what it is they do."

"Maybe they travel around the country chasing over the top stories." Lex commented, drawing a few laughs from Clark and Lana.

"Yeah," Lana scoffed, "as if."


	4. The Wall of Weird

Sam's eyes roamed over the wall, taking quick glances at the stories documented here. He studied the pictures, drawn particularly to one of a young girl, three or four, in a fairy outfit, her face scrunched up. He read the words on the page, taken aback to realise the small child was Lana.

"What's Lana's story?" He asked, turning to look at Chloe. The blonde girl had been filling Dean in on the Wall of Weird, telling him what she had not told him in the Talon, giving him information she had previously told Sam on the forum.

"Her parents were killed in the meteor shower." She crossed over to stand next to Sam, staring at the wall. Dean joined them, now studying the newspaper clippings and reports. "Don't....it wouldn't be a good idea to mention it to her though. She doesn't like talking about it."

"You wouldn't." Dean was staring hard at the picture, the image of pure sorrow. "It's hard when your parents are killed."

Chloe felt the usual journalist instinct rearing its head; she felt the urge to ask about their parents. She knew it wouldn't be a good idea though, judging from the look on Dean's face. She didn't want to dredge up bad memories for them.

"She's come far, from that." Chloe commented. "She's been through stuff you would not believe. Well, we all have."

The brothers looked at each other, and once more she wanted to question them, wanted to find out more about their lives.

"Try us." Dean muttered, eyes returning to the Wall of Weird. "Who's that?"

A dark look crossed Chloe's face, her eyes narrowing and her lips turning slightly downwards. "Ian Randell. He could split himself; kind of create two of him."

The image was from a yearbook photo, a small newspaper clipping beside it, though this gave no clue as to his strange ability. Instead, it just explained that he had attempted to kill two young girls from Smallville High, and had been placed in Belle Reve. Dean started at the name, before asking Chloe what it was.

"Who were the two girls?" Sam asked, though he had already guessed, from the look on Chloe's face, that one of them had been her.

"Me and Lana." She shuddered at the memory, dragging her eyes away from the image. "We've both learnt to be weary of anyone showing an interest in us."

Dean's eyes scanned the wall, wondering how many times Chloe had been hurt. "How'd you get out of it?"

"Clark." Chloe chuckled, though it contained no humour. "God knows how many times he's saved us. He's kind of got a bit of a hero complex."

"Sounds like someone I know." Sam muttered, grinning as he looked at his brother. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Speak for yourself."

"Clark's got competition then." Chloe shook her head. "God knows how many times he's put himself in danger though. He always seems to come out fine though."

"Must be a pretty good fighter."

"I guess." Chloe frowned. "But to be honest, usually if I'm there...I'm out of it. Strange things happen in this town boys, you sure you want to stick around?"

"For a while, yeah." Dean answered as Sam went to open his mouth. "Has there been anything happening recently?"

"Actually...I only got the e-mail this morning." She moved towards one of the computers, typing something in. "I haven't told the others, yet. But I know Clark would be interested." She slid into the chair, as the brothers moved to stand behind her. "I've got a contact at the Morgue; he e-mails me when something interesting comes up."

"What counts as interesting?" Dean pulled a chair towards the table, sitting down in it as his eyes focused on the screen. He had never been good with technology; it was Sam who did most of the research, who scoured the internet and knew, where, exactly to look.

"Unusual deaths, strange markings that sort of thing. It's come in handy before, a useful way of tracking people down who have gone missing or whatever."

"Wow." Sam glanced at his brother. "Sounds like a very useful contact."

"He is." She agreed, before bringing up the e-mail. "Right, so a body came in last night. There was nothing overly unusual about it; man, in his sixties. They thought it had been a heart attack, his daughter found him in his living room. Except, he seemed to be in perfect health. When they cut him open, they found the blood frozen. Not just cold, but literally frozen. Like ice."

"Jesus." Sam shook his head, as his brother stared at the screen.

"What about that bit?" He pointed to the end of the e-mail, eyes glancing over the sentence. "The heart was green?"

"Yeah, well, glowing green." Chloe closed the page, turning in her seat so she could see Sam and Dean. "The thing is, the meteor rocks are green. And those who have been affected by them usually have, I don't know, evidence of them in their blood or whatever. Like particles. That's why he found this so..." She waved a hand, struggling to find the right word.

"So this guy, he's like them?" Dean waved a hand at the wall. "He got some sort of strange ability or whatever from the rocks?"

"That's what I thought. At first." Chloe leant back, crossing her arms. "But then, the more I thought about it, the more he seems he was killed by someone else who has been affected."

"So you've got a mutant running around?" Dean shook his head, leaning on the table with his elbow and rested his head on his hand. "This sounds too X-Men for us."

Sam frowned, staring at the Wall of Weird. "If people are in danger, we need to stop whoever this is."

"You're right." Dean stood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Where should we start?"


	5. Rooming Arrangements

**A/N: I have very recently started watching Series 4 of Smallville. And yeah, this is AU to that series. Because otherwise that'd just get confusing with Dean and Jason running around. So this takes place during the end of Series 3. Although I do now have a plot bunny in my head involving Dean taking a trip to Smallville after this, and meeting Jason.... Might be interesting. Hell, just for the fun of it I'll throw Alec from Dark Angel in too. Maybe, if/when I get around to finishing this. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.  
**

Lex gave Clark a lift home, but to Clark's surprise his friend took the long way back to the farm. As soon as he had pulled off the main road, Clark asked what Lex wanted to talk about.

"Maybe I'm just taking the scenic route Clark."

"You're not though, are you."

It was a statement, not a question. Clark knew his friend better than that by now, he knew that most small things Lex did had an ulterior motive. Not all the time – he didn't think there was anything in Lex helping Lana with the Talon, or a motive when Lex helped Clark's family with the farm. But then again, those were big gestures, not small acts like taking the longer way to the Kent Farm, rather than the direct route.

"I need your help with something." Lex took a deep breath, staring at the road rather than Clark. "I don't like the timing of those two arriving in Smallville."

"What do you mean?"

"We had some problems at the Plant last night." Lex shook his head, adding a roll of his eyes into it. "Again. And this time I don't think it's as simple as a certain blonde reporter trying to help her dad."

"What were the problems Lex?"

"We had a break up. Night security were beaten up pretty bad, one of them is missing."

"You have anything stolen?"

"I'm not sure what they broke into."

Clark stared at his friend, trying to decipher his expression. Lex looked worried and concerned, but Clark could tell he was hiding something. He turned away from his friend, and instead focused his gaze on the glove compartment. Using his x-ray vision, he managed to see what was inside it. A couple of CDs, a glasses case and some documents, one of which read 'LuthorCorp Projects'.

He tried to read more, but thanks to the way the paper was folded, he was unable to see exactly what it said. "How do you know about the break in, but not what they took?"

"Because it was an area I didn't have access to. I didn't even know I didn't have access until my father turned up this morning."

"Lex...was it Level Three?"

"No." Lex frowned as he stared at the road ahead. "I know my father is carrying on with those experiments, Clark. But the way he's done it – they're completely covered up. There's no way I can find out about them. As far as I was aware, there weren't any based in the Plant."

"But you think there was something there?"

"Yes."

Clark sank down in his seat, thinking over what Lex had just said. As he pondered the implications of something like this happening, he heard the buzzing of his cell phone. Quickly he pulled it out, to see Chloe's name flashing on the screen.

"Hey." He glanced at Lex as Chloe spoke, listening carefully to her words. "Alright, no worries. See you later." He hung up just as his friend pulled into the Kent farm. Clark climbed out, turning back to see Lex staring with concerned eyes at him.

"Who was it?"

"Chloe. Asking if she could come over later." He shrugged, as if it were no big deal. He was, after all, an expert at hiding things. "Thanks for the lift Lex, I'll see if I can get Chloe to look into the break in."

"Be careful Clark." Lex let out a drawn out sigh. "You know how dangerous my father can be."

"Yeah," Clark nodded, "I know." He closed the door and waited for Lex to drive out of sight before he turned and ran to the school, wondering what it was Chloe wanted to talk to him so urgently about.

"Wow," Dean glanced up from where he had been flicking through old issues of the Torch. His eyes fell on Clark, standing in the doorway and glancing around, "you got here quick."

"I was around." Clark commented, nervously scratching the back of his neck. Since Lex's revelation, he found that his suspicions of the brothers were growing deeper. He needed to find out if they were the ones responsible for the break in. "Where's Chloe?"

"Her and Sam went to get some food." Dean's eyes fell back to the paper. "So you do quite a lot for the Torch, right?"

"Quite a bit, yeah." Clark pulled a chair towards him, settling himself down at a fair distance away from Dean. "What is it you and your brother do again?"

"Didn't say." Dean muttered, seeming half-distracted. Clark frowned, disliking the man's easy ability to seem like he really didn't care, the attitude that Clark did not matter. "We kind of do odd jobs."

"Odd jobs?" Clark stretched his legs out, crossing his ankles. "Like what?"

Dean shrugged, putting the paper down and leaning forward. "Whatever we can get, I guess. Usually we do..." He waved a hand in the air, as if trying to think of the words. "Extermination – getting rid of vermin, nasty things that sort of thing."

"Right." Clark glanced away, wishing Chloe would hurry up.

"What are you thinking of doing, after you finish school?" Dean asked, trying to make conversation more than anything else. He put the paper down, figuring that if he was going to be staying at the farm, he at least had to make an effort with Clark. There was nothing specific about the boy that put him off, it was just that Dean was the type of person who wanted to get onto a case straight away, not hang around and make friends with Kansas farm boys.

Still, he thought, Clark Kent might be a useful link to have in the town. He had already introduced the boys to Chloe, after all, and clearly he knew Smallville very well.

"I don't know." Clark replied, giving a light shrug. "I was considering going into journalism."

"Really?"

"What's so surprising about that?"

"Just that, well, you don't seem like a journalist kid."

"Yeah? What do I seem like then?"

Dean shrugged, studying Clark. "A farmer."

Despite himself, Clark smiled, before shaking his head. "I don't think I want to stay in Smallville forever."

Dean nodded, glancing around the room. "Seriously, you just don't seem to have that ruthless, get-the-story-no-matter-what streak most journalists seem to have."

Clark shrugged, glancing towards the door. "And you think Chloe does?"

"A bit of it, yeah." Dean leant forward, eyeing Clark. "I'm not saying it's a good thing to have, but your high school paper editor has just enough of it. I get the feeling she'd stop before it got too far though."

i_Now, maybe./i_ Clark thought. Outwardly, he just nodded, glad when the door opened and Chloe, with Sam, stepped in.

"Hey." She smiled briefly at Clark, holding up a tray of coffee and some sandwiches. She handed the food out, before sitting down at her computer. "Right, Clark, we think we've found something."

"Didn't know there was anything to find." Clark muttered, eyeing the two men as he moved toward the computer. "But what is it, Chloe?"

"Well..." She proceeded to tell Clark what she had already told the other two, about the man who had been taken into the morgue. "Hang on, my contact's managed to get an I.D."

Clark moved around to stare at the screen. His eyes roamed over the name on the e-mail. "Nathanial Paulson." His eyes widened as he looked at the blonde reporter. "Chloe, he works at the LuthorCorp plant."

"He did." Chloe pushed her chair back. "Wasn't he friends with your dad?"

"Used to be yeah." Clark stepped back, eyes fixed on the screen. "A while back. They had an argument just before he started working at the plant though. Haven't spoken for years."

Chloe stood up, started pacing in front of the Wall of Weird. The three boys watched her as she folded one arm across her chest, putting the other elbow over her hand. She paused, deep in thought. "So I'm guessing there's a link to the plant."

"Maybe." Clark knew he had to tread carefully in front of these two; he didn't want to reveal what he knew to Chloe if Sam and Dean were listening. "But that's not definite Chloe."

"It's pointing that way though, and with Lionel Luthor's past record..."

Dean glanced at his brother, sensing there was something Clark was unwilling to admit in front of them. "Hey Sammy, I think I need some fresh air."

"Alright. Meet you back up here?"

Dean rolled his eyes as he stood, adjusting his jacket. "Or you could come with me."

He fixed his stare on his brother, and eventually Sam got the hint. Chloe watched the two leave with the slightest of frowns on her face, before she turned to Clark. "So you honestly think the Luthor family has nothing to do with this?"

"I don't think Lex does." Clark shrugged. "But...Chloe, there was a break in at the plant last night."

"And you couldn't say this earlier?"

"No. Not with those two around."

"Clark, you're letting them stay at the farm, yet you don't trust them?"

"I'm letting them stay there so I can keep an eye on them."

"What for?"

"Just...just in case Chloe."

"In case of what?" She was getting more agitated as, once again, Clark seemed to dodge her questions like bullets, as he, as usual, kept something from her.

"Lex thinks it might have been them who broke in."

"Lex thinks what?" She shook her head, stepping backwards. "That is bullshit Clark! Lex is too paranoid for his own good sometimes."

"What, like when he thought his father was drugging him?" Clark snapped back, watching as Chloe's features shifted from surprise to anger.

"That was different, Clark. I trust Sam. Why don't you?"

"What about his brother?" Clark hissed, slipping away from Chloe and towards the door. "You trust him too?"

She was silent, staring at him with her large eyes, searching his face for some clue as to why he was acting like this. They were both startled by the voice that came from the doorway.

"She doesn't have to trust us, farm boy. Not yet anyway."

Clark's eyes snapped to the smaller of the brothers, whose eyes were now glowing with slight anger. He looked at Chloe.

"We can help, Chloe. We've looked into stranger things and come out fine. What do you want us to do?"

"I thought you said you did odd jobs." Clark cut in, turning his gaze to look at the shorter man. Dean pushed his shoulders back, lifted his chin slightly and stared straight back.

"We do."

Clark's eyes snapped to Chloe, who turned away from him with a nervous look. She faced Dean instead, telling him about the break in. As she did, Clark groaned and shook his head.

"Chloe, no one else was supposed to know."

"They can help, Clark." She replied. "You heard them."

"You think it was us, don't you?" Dean stepped further into the room, eyes narrowed as he looked at Clark. "What is LuthorCorp, anyway?"

"You guys really aren't from around here, are you?" Chloe took a deep breath, watching the look on Dean's face. He remained silent, and was saved from answering the question only by the arrival of his brother. Sam stepped into the room unaware of the tension, but as soon as he saw the way Dean and Clark were looking at each other, he knew he'd missed something important.

"What's going on?" He asked, staring worriedly around him. "Dean?"

"Nothing." Dean shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He fixed his eyes on Chloe. "Go on then, LuthorCorp."

Chloe had not missed the look of pain that had sparked in Dean's eyes when she had mentioned where they had come from. She ignored it, however, putting it at the back of her mind, wondering if she'd be able to find out more from them if she befriended the two brothers. "Right, LuthorCorp. It's this huge business based in Metropolis, owned by Lionel Luthor and his son, Lex. They do all sorts, the main building is in the city but they have a plant here in Smallville."

"The plant where the break in was?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "To be honest, the Luthors have always been shrouded in this like cloak of mystery. Weird things happen in Smallville, and a few of them happen at the plant." She glanced at Clark, who was frowning at the blonde reporter. "Lex is a good guy, his dad...not so much."

"His dad conducts experiments." Clark cut in, realising Chloe would tell them eventually. "Using the resources at the plant to do it."

"And I really think the guy who turned up dead is linked to one of them."

"Experiments?" Dean looked sceptical. "What, we in some sort of sci-fi flick?"

"Better than being stuck in a horror movie." Sam muttered, pushing his hands into the pockets of his trousers. He nodded. "Right, so you're going to focus on the plant?"

"For now, yeah." Chloe nodded. "Unless something else turns up."

"I can talk to Lex again." Clark shrugged. "Might be worth seeing if he knows anymore."

"We'll drop you off." Dean ran a hand through his hair. "Then we'll head to a motel."

Clark frowned. "I thought you were staying at the farm."

Chloe rolled her eyes, as Dean stared at Clark with disbelief etched over his face. "You kidding me? You still want us at the farm?"

Clark shrugged, glancing away and fixing his gaze instead on the Wall of Weird. "If you need to.."

"We don't." Dean snapped. "We'll be fine."

"There's a spare room above the Talon." Chloe cut in, attempting to place peace maker. "I'm sure Lana won't mind if you guys move in."

"Alright then, we'll go to the Talon. Meet you there later?"

"Sure." Chloe smiled at them, before turning to Clark. "Talon, in an hour?"

He gave a quick nod before disappearing. Chloe watched as the two strangers left with him, wondering if Clark would eventually get over his suspicions of the two brothers. As far as she could tell, they didn't seem too bad.


End file.
